Each time top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko steps onto the canvas, his legacy is questioned. And every time he steps from it, the public’s faith is renewed.

This Saturday at “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum,” Emelianenko fights on American soil for the fourth time – this time amid a different climate, and perhaps a more critical one.

Continued rumors focus on a potential retirement, a run for politics, and an impending showdown with Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Like always, the Russian is stoic about the rumors, as well as his opponent, Fabricio Werdum. But Werdum has been waiting his whole life to face the legend, and he’s not about to let a monumental opportunity pass.

The card takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and airs live on Showtime.

As with all fighters who face Emelianenko (31-1 MMA, 1-0 SF), Werdum (13-4-1 MMA, 2-0 SF) faces the question of what he brings to table that makes him different from the others who’ve tried to topple the nearly undefeated fighter.

A PRIDE and UFC veteran, Werdum has faced many of the world’s top heavyweights and holds notable career victories over Gabriel Gonzaga, Overeem, Aleksander Emelianenko (Fedor Emelianenko’s brother) and Brandon Vera. Most recently, he dispatched former EliteXC champion Antonio Silva by unanimous decision this past November.

On paper, the Brazilian arguably has the advantage on the ground. He’s an Abu Dhabi fighter when it hits the ground. But he’s also worked diligently with former Chute Boxe trainer Rafael Cordero on his striking game, and he’s come a long way from the open-handed slaps he employed against Andrei Arlovski in 2007. His striking will never be pretty, but it can get the job done.

Meanwhile, Werdum said he respects Emelianenko too much to say he’s going to triumph in one area or another.

“I don’t feel I have any distinct advantages over Fedor that I would care to discuss,” Werdum said.

Yet the Brazilian has not trained with heavyweights in preparation for the bout. Instead, he has targeted such fighters as Wanderlei Silva, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Mark Munoz, Vladimir Matyushenko and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, most of whom have fought at light heavyweight and walk around within a stone’s throw of Emelianenko’s smaller weight.

Werdum believes the lighter guys help make him faster, and hopefully, they will offset Emelianenko’s much-ballyhooed speed advantage.

“This was the best training camp of my life,” Werdum said. “On June 26, I just have to do the same thing that I did in my training to be victorious.”

Not much is known about Emelianenko’s training for Werdum because it’s been overshadowed by persistent chatter between his representatives at M-1 Global, Overeem’s representatives, and Overeem himself. And lately, fans have wondered whether he’ll call it quits before the potential heavyweight bout sees the light of day.

A persistent theme in his recent career is the need of his management versus the need of fans and promoters. Always, the former wins.

Emelianenko was expected to fight Werdum in April at “Strikeforce: Nashville” before a contract impasse nixed his participation in the event. M-1 Global officials demanded, among other things, that its brand be featured more prominently along Strikeforce following the fighter’s promotional debut this past November on the CBS-televised “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.” The fight could not be booked in time.

As it turns out, Emelianenko was disappointed he did not make the CBS-televised card.

“It was unpleasant that the fight kept getting postponed,” Emelianenko said. “I was certainly ready to fight in April. I wanted to fight in April, and I had to change my training for it. With respect to that period and why the bout was postponed, it had nothing to do with me or from our side. It’s really a question that you’d probably have to direct to Strikeforce and (my manager) Vadim Finkelchtein from M-1 (Global) to talk more about that period.”

In his Strikeforce debut, Emelianenko survived a dangerous first round to flatten Brett Rogers, though he dislocated his thumb in the process. (He has been plagued with hand problems in recent years.)

Rumors surfaced earlier this month that Emelianenko was nearing his end with fighting and intended to serve his final two fights with Strikeforce before embarking on a political career.

The implications of the rumor were worst for M-1 Global, which is headed by Finkelchtein and partially owned by Emelianenko, M-1’s most bankable product.

However, the former PRIDE heavyweight champion said there will be no politics in his future while he’s fighting. However, he isn’t quite sure how much longer he’ll be doing that. The end of his Strikeforce contract is as far as he’s gotten.

Asked by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.clom) whether he feels pressured to keep fighting, Emelianenko said there is a “demand” for him to keep fighting.

“Right now, I’m OK with that, and after every fight, I balance and weigh whether I should continue or whether I should stop,” he said. “Until I come to a point where I feel that I’m not as effective and I’m not getting what I want out of the sport, I’ll continue fighting.”

The question is whether he fight to the best of his abilities?

Emelianenko has looked increasingly human in his later career, and he’s facing a man who could very well school him on the ground. If his boxing is not up to par on Saturday, Werdum could be the first fighter to beat him without an asterisk. (Emelianenko’s one loss was against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in 2000 and ended via cut; it was ruled a loss and not the usual no-contest only because of the event’s tournament format.)

The bout materialized when Santos’ original opponent, Erin Toughill, fell into dispute with Strikeforce over the terms of her contract and came to the brink of retirement.

Faced with a noticeable dearth of opponents, the promotion booked Finney, who’s now a +800 underdog against Santos’ -2000 favorite status. (In other words, oddsmakers are giving Finney a meager 4 to 12 percent chance of winning.)

Finney is a durable fighter, though her technique lags behind her toughness. She’s promised to come right at the champion and won’t be bullied. Santos will undoutedly test that with a rush of punches early on. If Finney doesn’t wither, there’s a fight to be had.

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le (6-1 MMA, 6-1 SF) takes on Scott Smith (17-6 MMA, 3-1 SF) in an immediate rematch from their fight this past December. After an extended layoff due to a blossoming film career, Le returned to the cage at “Strikeforce: Evolution” and made an early case for taking back the belt he gave up to act. But Smith, the perpetual comeback kid, caught him in the third round with heavy hands and handed him his first professional loss.

Smith, to put it lightly, isn’t thrilled about an immediate rematch. But he’s presumably healthy going into this bout – he wasn’t in the December bout – and he will likely take less time to do what he did in the previous fight. Le is great against guys who let him set up and throw his favored kicks, but Smith won’t let him do that. Le’s best option is to stay in motion and outpoint the UFC veteran.

Additionally, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson (16-3 MMA, 7-2 SF) begins his road back to the title after losing his strap to the man he won it from, Gilbert Melendez, this past December. Stepping in for an injured Lyle Beerbohm is tough journeyman Pat Healy (23-15 MMA, 1-0 SF), who could steal some big thunder with an upset win. It’s more likely, though, that Thomson’s crisp striking will be the winning difference in this fight.

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